Horse has become a nightmare.

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littlen

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I am currently in the process of trying to fitten my horse up as he has not been worked proberly for many months. I thought about a sharer which didnt work out and now he is turned out 24/7 except being lightly hacked once or twice a week.

Over the last few weeks I have decided he is coming back into full work, and I am starting to school twice a week and hack twice a week, and in all honesty being out of work has turned him into a different horse to the one I used to know.

One of the problems is with his hacking, he is becoming a pain to hack alone, although in company he is a atar.
He is constantly spooky, leaping sideways at the littlest things which knocks what little confidence I have. Then after a little while he will just plant, spin and head for home and no amount of turning will stop. Its like a battle of nerves and he certainly has more confidence that I do!
He hasnt bucked,reared or bolted but I wouldnt put it past him but I have never let the situation get that far along.

He also will not stand still if i ask. If god forbid i had to get off for whatever reason I would never get back on as he will not stand to be mounted, not even on the yard.

The final problem is he will not stand still on the yard, he breaks ties constantly and is forever shouting and spinning, and now he has learnt he can snap ties he is doing it religiously meaning i cannot take me eyes off him for 1 second. Its hard to groom him or do anything with him. In the stable he is worse, spinning, weaving and shouting.

Now what would you do with a horse like this, who plants, spooks and spins for home? Also how would you train him to stand properly when mounted and stand properly to be groomed and tacked up.

I feel like an awful person for letting him get in this way, but due to my circumstances I decided letting him be turned away would do him good but it has had the opposite effect
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Please any advice would be appreciated.

Oh just to add, his back and teeth were checked before bringing him back into work. He has been out of work since May ish, only brought in every so often to have feet sorted then back out (but he was checked daily etc)
 
If it has only been a few weeks then he may just need more practice at everything!
Give him firm but fair rules and guidance - he may just be very excited at getting back to work and being over-enthusastic. If so, he should calm down over time.
 
Thanks everyone,

No i usually spend a good hour or so grooming and tacking up (he is grey so it takes that long getting the muck out of him lol)

I think its that he hasnt been handled or shown any boundries for a month or so since he has been turned away, and I need to establish myself once again but dont know how. He has been mistreated in the past so panics if i shout at him and breaks ties even more. When he naps i am scared to use a whip as i dont know what his reaction will be!
 
If he naps ask him to have a trot - just for 30 seconds or so. I have found 9 time out of 10 it works as instead of thinking "I want to go home" they think "Ooh cool, I get to trot now!"
 
oh rite just read somewhere if u rush around it winds them up dunno if thats true though!

id also say probly just needs to get used to the new routine still.
 
What about trying some basic natural horsemanship stuff from the ground? My sister is very nervous and its helped her loads over the past few months. May give you some confidence and horsie a few more manners!!! Is there anyone nearby that can give you a few pointers?
 
it might help just riding him more and he might calm down an get back with the rythm of it, or i would say a horse behaiviouralist if its not getting any better. the horse behaviouralist who came out to me worked wonders with my horse and he in now a totally different horse, without hitting him which i hate doing.
 
I've had this with my chap, both when I first got him (he had been out of work for a long period) and then after a period off work due to lameness. I would say persevere, be quiet, firm and consistent, could you lunge him before working, hacking, handling? At first I would groom my boy after work when he was tired and more amenable. I would also be inclined to hold the end of the rope as I found my chap more relaxed if he didn't feel he was restricted. I also would only ride in company until you have both gained more confidence, (I later asked an experienced rider to hack my chap out on his own to give him confidence). When out hacking we trotted as much as possible (subject to ground) to keep him moving forward but not fast enough to encourage him to hot up, he was much less spooky when going forward in trot. If yours is anything like mine then work, work and more work! You will get there in the end!
 
If he only takes a quick step backwards to break the tie, try tying a knot in the end of the lead rope and dropping this through the baling twine. If he tries to snap his tie the rope just follows him and he'll think it didn't work. Obviously make sure that yard gates and any exits are shut/blocked as he could still get loose. You'll have to keep a close eye on him and shorten the rope when needed to stop him tangling his legs in it but this has worked for a couple of horses at our yard. Also, he may be getting bored being groomed and tacked up for an hour so try just getting the saddle area and head clean and tack up so that he doesn't fidget.
 
I'm assuming from your username he's a welshy?

I have the same problem with mine now and then, tend to find he's just testing the waters. It helps to have some-one on foot to grab him when he's threatening to turn tail and run (doesn't matter how short the reins are and how strongly your legs are on, he still manages to twist and duck his way out of it the swine!), otherwise I use the firm but fair approach, if he does get away I turn him round and make him get on with it, no excuses, doesn't matter how long it takes, unfortunately patience is the key! Trotting doesn't work- it usually winds him up more, and if it's a case of he's spooking at something, he then tries to rush once he's level with it anyway.

This might not go for all welsh's, could just be him, but in the meantime have you anyone who's confident enough to walk with you for a while, as re-inforcement?
Is he better or worse if you go some-where new- sometimes taking them some-where new keeps them interested enough so as not to want to try any tricks.
Like the others have said- maybe he's getting bored with being groomed for that long- just clean where his tack goes and get going perhaps?

With the mounting issue, again, is there some-one who can hold him for you- or be a dummy rider getting on/off him whilst you hold him, each time he moves, you push him back to where he was originally, just repeating until he improves slightly then call it a day (same goes for if he fidgets whilst being groomed too)? And natural horsemanship/groundwork would really help with him learning to respect your space for this
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Would tying him up with a haynet to keep him occupied also help (sorry if you've already tried it) it might distract him enough for you to quickly groom/tack him up and before he's had time to think about breaking his string you're off again.

I think it's just a case of patience and trying not to let him get the otehr hand, I hope you manage to get a break through soon
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